Israel detains 16 more Palestinians from West Bank

Israeli occupation forces today detained 16 more Palestinians in military raids across the occupied West Bank, according to prisoners’ affairs groups.

The arrests took place in the cities of Jenin, Tubas, Qalqilya, Bethlehem and Hebron, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society said in a joint statement.

The Israeli forces assaulted and threatened the detainees and their family members, and vandalised their homes, the statement added.

The new arrests brought the total number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the West Bank since October 2023 to 9,970, including those who were released after being arrested, according to Palestinian figures.

The statement noted that the figure does not include those arrested from the Gaza Strip whose numbers are estimated to be in the thousands.

Over the past few years, the Israeli military has conducted regular raids in the West Bank, which have escalated since the beginning of the war on Gaza on 7 October. Palestinians have also been violently attacked by illegal Israeli settlers.

At least 611 Palestinians have been killed during that period and nearly 5,400 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land “illegal” and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and the payment of reparations.

READ:  West Bank situation worsening daily: UNRWA